I have to say that this little island located on Gasparilla Island is one of the most unique places on Earth! If you have ever visited Boca Grande you know it's a place steeped in history, family and wealth. The beautiful beaches and turquoise water will capture the hearts and minds of visitors young and old.

The waters that surround the island are Charlotte Harbor, Boca Grande Pass, Gasparilla Pass and the Gulf of Mexico. The Boca Grande Pass hosts the World's Richest Tarpon tournament each year which draws people from all over the world.

The Gasparilla Inn is an old hotel that has catered to some of our nations greatest people.

Gasparilla Island is a part of both Charlotte and Lee Counties, while the actual village of Boca Grande, which is home to many seasonal and year-round residents, is entirely in the Lee County portion of the island.

Its name - Spanish for "Big Mouth" - comes from the mouth of the waterway, called Boca Grande Pass, at the southern tip of the island. The pass was used as a busy shipping point for many years as the waters in the pass are naturally deep. Processed phosphate from the Bone Valley region would be loaded onto waiting cargo vessels via. the Seaboard Air Line Railway at the dock located on the southern tip of the island. Shipping business to the island declined when the Port of Tampa was later dredged and phosphate shipping operations moved north to locations along Tampa Bay. Evidence of the island's industrial past can still be seen.

Space is at a premium in the village of Boca Grande, so many local residents use a golf cart as their main mode of transportation. On any given day in Boca Grande, you will see golf carts, as well as automobiles, making their way throughout downtown. A Lee County ordinance designates all but two streets as golf cart paths.

Boca Grande also provided the backdrop for Denzel Washington's movie, Out of Time, where the quiet village was re-named 'Banyan Key' in reference to the banyan trees that populate the island. Scenes for the 2006 film based on Carl Hiaasen's book Hoot were also filmed on the island.

Hurricane Charley hit Boca Grande heavily on August 13, 2004, causing some 20 billion US dollars' worth of damage to Southwest Florida. There were no deaths or injuries on the island, but many buildings were damaged and most of the banyan trees were heavily damaged.

Boca is very popular with affluent holiday makers, many of whom keep a second home on the island. There is a degree of animosity between year-round residents and those who come to spend the winter months on the island.

The sleepy community sometimes hosts members of Former Governor Jeb Bush and President George W. Bush's family, who occasionally spend the week between Christmas and New Year's on the island.

Another attraction of Gasparilla Island and Boca Grande is Banyan Street.  These old ficus trees have created their own tourist attraction. The unique aspect of these plants is that they drop their roots from above the ground. The seeds are captured by birds who drop them in other trees nearby and the ficus ends up taking over the host tree and its life source.

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